Justin Lee Collins: Good Times

Funnyman Alan Carr has urged former comedy partner Justin Lee Collins to tone down his chat show. The Chatty Man star said of Justin Lee Collins: Good Times, on Five: "I like it but it's a bit disjointed and all over the place. I'd rather it stuck in the same place and he wasn't whizzing around the studio so much."

JLC: I'll ban Jordan

Chat host Justin Lee Collins has banned Jordan from his show - saying she is hopeless without her former husband Peter Andre.

Anyone who knows Justin Lee Collins and the horror of his Bring Back... programmes will be relieved to know that this new mixture of chat and variety show is nowhere near as bad as it might have been. Filmed in front of a young audience of 300-odd people at the plush Rivoli Ballroom in south London, it is full of good humour and high spirits. "I wanted the show to feel like a circus," he says, "with me as the ringmaster." During the run of the series, he will play darts with Meat Loaf and Ewan McGregor, interview Gok Wan and Mathew Horne, compliment Sharon Osborne on her plastic surgery and organise an offbeat dance competition. The most pleasant surprise of all is that he doesn't scream and shout with artificial exuberance.

The Rivoli Ballroom in south London is used to seeing stars. It was the setting for Tina Turner's Private Dancer video as well as an Elton John video. It'll be seeing some more as the setting for Justin Lee Collins' new chat show.

The opulent intimate setting give this the same kind of vibe as TFI Friday once had the dividing line between guests and audience is comfortably blurred.

After Jason Manford's new variety show Comedy Rocks started on Friday on ITV1, it'll be interesting to see how the two comedians shape up.

Given his recent winning Sky series in which he tried his hand at anything from wrestling to ten pin bowling to performing in a West End musical, it's no surprise to see the warm and engaging Justin Lee Collins back in chat show format. This solo affair is filmed at London's Rivoli Ballroom, and the informal style takes us back to the days of TFI Friday (but with the added bonus of weekly celebrity darts matches - hurrah!).

There's a distinctly likeable quality to comedian and presenter Justin Lee Collins which will serve him well on this new chat show of his.

Content-wise, it may not be breaking significant new ground - music and conversation are the mainstay - but Justin is hoping to create a late-night cabaret feel to the proceedings, befitting the opulence of its setting, London's iconic Rivoli Ballroom.

"I wanted the show to feel like a circus," he says, "so I'm kind of like the ringmaster!" We're promised games, surprises, audience participation (always makes me glad I'm watching at home, that) - and, if Justin has his way, maybe even an appearance from one of the ghosts rumoured to haunt the venue. I wouldn't hold your breath for that last one, personally.

Ghosts give JLC a fright

Ghostly events on Justin Lee Collins' new chat show have spooked the shaggy-haired star.

Justin Lee Collins: Mr Bouncy's castle

Good Times, the presenter's new chat show on Five, has as much fun with the audience as with the celebrity guests.